What's Senior Bowl week about? Proving you belong (Herndon column)

MOBILE, Alabama -- E.J. Manuel was expected by many to be a
second-day pick before last year's Senior Bowl. After turning in an MVP
performance during a week in which no other quarterbacks distinguished
themselves - and projected front-runner Geno Smith was absent - Manuel ended up
being the only quarterback selected in the first round.

Derek Carr wants to be this year's E.J. Manuel.
Carr, the Fresno State quarterback and brother of former No. 1 overall pick
David Carr, is part of a large group of similarly rated quarterbacks lumped in
behind the three underclassmen expected to go early in the first round -
Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater, Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel and Central
Florida's Blake Bortles.

Carr may have placed himself at the top of that
group trying to push itself into first-round contention after a strong week in
Mobile. And that's what this week is all about.

"I'm here to be a franchise quarterback. I want
to go to a franchise and be their guy," said Carr, who completed 7 of 12 passes
for 45 yards and a touchdown in the South's 20-10 victory. "You can line up
anybody next to me and I'm going to throw against them. I'm a competitor. I
don't mind competing. I wish we could all throw together and have everybody
around."

Russell Wilson was too short. Colin Kaepernick
hadn't played from under center. Justin Pugh was too small to be a tackle.
Terron Armstead hadn't faced elite competition.

All of them answered questions about themselves
during their respective weeks in Mobile and all are now starters in the NFL. Carr and the rest
of the players on the field at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday aimed to do the
same and many of them succeeded.

Auburn defensive end Dee Ford, the game's
overall Most Outstanding Player, showed that whether you want to play him at
defensive end, outside linebacker or wherever, he can get to the quarterback. Pittsburgh's
Aaron Donald showed all week that his smallish 6-0, 288-pound frame does not
keep him from being a dominant defensive tackle. Notre Dame offensive lineman
Zack Martin proved that he can play tackle or guard at a high level.

Wisconsin running back James White believes he answered
his biggest question during the weigh-in on Monday.

"Most people were thinking I was smaller than I
am, so I was happy to prove that with my weight," said White, who weighed in at
206 pounds and was named the North's Most Outstanding Player on Saturday after
rushing for 62 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. "I wanted to come out here
and prove I'm a running back who can do it all - block, catch the ball out of
the backfield, run in the middle and run outside. I think I did that pretty
well."

His Wisconsin teammate, linebacker Chris
Borland, can't do anything about his 5-11 height, but after leading both teams with
eight tackles he believes he showed that he can overcome it.

"I thought I showed that I'm a better athlete
than I get credit for and that I love the game," Borland said. "I think a week
like this goes a long way. The film shows I performed well at 5-11 and I just
have to continue to do everything right. Five-eleven is never going to change."

What happened in Mobile this week won't by
itself determine these players' fates in May's draft. There are still many
steps left in the evaluation process - the combine, pro days and individual
workouts. It's only one step in the process, so players who weren't happy with
their performances this week will have other chances to answer the questions
they failed to put to rest this week.

And even many of those who did rise to the
occasion still have more work to do. Alabama receiver Kevin Norwood, named the South's
Most Outstanding Player after catching four passes for 53 yards and a touchdown,
knows that questions about his speed will linger at least until the combine
next month in Indianapolis.

"I just wanted to come out here and play fast
and have no mess-ups," he said. "The one thing I wanted to do was come here and
prove to these coaches that I belong. I wanted to come make plays and I did."

That's what all of these players were out here
trying to prove this week. Many of them did just that.